Do we need to subject students, teachers to more standardized tests?
Published in the Washington Post
Thursday, March 18, 2010; A18
The No Child Left Behind law, heavily criticized because of the massive amount of testing it involved, required standardized tests in math and reading in the third through eighth grades and one year in high school. According to the March 14 front-page article "Obama calls for 'No Child' remake," we will have standardized tests in every grade, with the strong possibility of tests in other subjects as well, continuing the movement to convert schools into test-prep academies.
This means billions of dollars will be spent on test construction, validation, revision, etc., at a time when schools are already short of funds. Many science classes have no lab equipment, school
Thursday, March 18, 2010; A18
The No Child Left Behind law, heavily criticized because of the massive amount of testing it involved, required standardized tests in math and reading in the third through eighth grades and one year in high school. According to the March 14 front-page article "Obama calls for 'No Child' remake," we will have standardized tests in every grade, with the strong possibility of tests in other subjects as well, continuing the movement to convert schools into test-prep academies.
This means billions of dollars will be spent on test construction, validation, revision, etc., at a time when schools are already short of funds. Many science classes have no lab equipment, school
Florida Shenanigans
I sometimes wonder if the conservatives in Florida and the wingnuts in Texas are secretly trying to out-do each other with awful education reforms.
A lot of attention has been focused on Texas (for good reason), but two potential reforms in Florida deserve a mention.
Looks like tuition tax credits will expand in Florida:
Florida voucher expansion
Imagine Settles Discrimination Suit
Imagine will continue to preach about their shared values ofIntegrity, Justice, and Fun, but there sure seems to be a lot of teachers, principals, and parents with an awfully different take on the culture of Imagine.
Charter school operator to pay $570,000 to settle pregnancy discrimination suit
Imagine Schools, a charter school operator in Kansas City, has